Navy to base USS North Carolina at Pearl Harbor

The Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet said Wednesday that the 377-foot-long, $2.3 billion fast-attack submarine is scheduled to arrive in Hawaii in the summer.

Pearl Harbor is already home to two other Virginia-class submarines, the nation's most advanced. They are the USS Hawaii and the USS Texas.

The Navy is gradually replacing its older Los Angeles-class subs with Virginia-class ships.

The new vessels are outfitted with "photonic masts" controlled by a joystick instead of periscopes.

The submarines are designed to attack land and sea targets with cruise missiles and torpedoes. They're also equipped to sail into shallow waters to monitor enemy transmissions and to drop off SEAL teams.